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Tsumeb.com: Mission Statement

Tsumeb.com is a not-for-profit, collaborative project with the goal of collating and sharing information relating to the famous Tsumeb Mine in Namibia, one of the most diverse and prolific mineralogical localities in the world. The site was launched on February 8, 2016 from which date interested individuals are invited to contribute by submitting verified information and high quality images relating to the mineralogy, geology, history and personalities that define this unique mineralogical occurrence.

Images used on Tsumeb.com are presented with the permission of the owner and/or photographer. Images may not be reproduced from Tsumeb.com without the express permission of the owner, photographer and/or Tsumeb.com management. Likewise, textual information presented on this site may not be copied without the permission of Tsumeb.com management; however, information may be quoted with appropriate citation or acknowledgement.Reproduction or use of the Tsumeb.com logo is prohibited without express permission of the Tsumeb.com management team.

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Distribution

Very common. Abundant throughout the first oxidation zone. One or two significant finds in the second oxidation zone.

Occurrence

Supergene

1st Oxidation Zone

2nd Oxidation Zone

Notable Finds

There were many significant finds of azurite, of which the following named pockets stand out: The Gordon/Kegel pocket on 8 Level (1929); the Easter Pocket on 8 Level (1994); and the Perkins Sams Pocket (probably from the NW stope, Number 2 sub-level, on Level 35) in late 1980.

Paragenetic and General Notes

As fine lustrous, blue-black crystals to 25 cm; poorly developed crystals to 50 cm have been reported. Many are more or less altered to malachite. The vast majority of azurite is from the first oxidation zone but one or two important pockets were recovered from the second oxidation zone.

Keller (1977) places azurite as an important component of his "Type I" parageneses (i.e. minerals forming at relatively higher pH values). However, he notes that azurite also occurs with minerals that are typical of Type II parageneses, and cites that observation as evidence that oxidising solutions evolved from acidic to basic. Keller identified the following parageneses involving azurite:

Azurite does not, as a rule, appear to replace other minerals. However, a remarkable specimen in the Folch Collection appears to consist of an encrustation pseudomorph of azurite after a cerussite "sixling" (Carl Acosta and Jordi Fabre, personal communications to M.Southwood, 2015).